The John Marshall Law School

• A-Z
• eCommons
• ITS
• Webmail
• Contact
• Donate

Client Success Stories

Norman Distribution, Inc.

The BTEP is an absolutely amazing platform for companies in need of legal work. They were always communicating and catering to our needs as a company. They never pushed us to make quick decisions. Moreover, the BTEP acted as if they were a ‘real’ law firm and took an interest in learning our business model and industry. The BTEP is an invaluable and advantageous program for a start-up corporation.”

Ryan Meczyk, Norman Distribution, Inc.

Norman Distribution, Inc. is a distributor of food products throughout the Chicago area. Started by three college friends who are now in their mid-20s, the owners were referred to the BTEP by a friend from college - a law student who was participating in the BTEP. When the BTEP was retained, the company had been in business for two years. Although the owners talked about entering into a shareholders agreement amongst the partners and knew it was important, they never got around to doing it.

ASAP Trainers, Inc.

Craig Bowman, a former college football player, stays in tip-top shape. In addition to his day job, Craig is a personal health and fitness trainer. Desiring to expand his business, ASAP Trainers, Inc., Craig engaged the BTEP to help him develop an independent contractor agreement. The agreement, along with a client release form, allows him to employ additional fitness trainers as his business grows. Craig is moving forward with developing a business model that will serve the corporate community’s employee fitness programs.

Harvest Time Café & Catering

The work of the law student/counselors was very professional and thorough. They understood my business and drafted documents that fit the business just right.”

Trudy Alston, Harvest Time Café & Catering

Norman Distribution, Inc. is a distributor of food products throughout the Chicago area. Started by three college friends who are now in their mid-20s, the owners were referred to the BTEP by a friend from college - a law student who was participating in the BTEP. When the BTEP was retained, the company had been in business for two years. Although the owners talked about entering into a shareholders agreement amongst the partners and knew it was important, they never got around to doing it.

Evanston Community Media Center, Inc.

The BTEP received a call in the summer of 2012 from a member of Evanston Community Media Center, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation (a/k/a ECTV). ECTV is the public, educational and governmental cable television station serving the City of Evanston, Illinois. BTEP Director Michael Schlesinger was invited to the organization’s annual meeting to address two ECTV concerns: the service agreement between ECTV and the City of Evanston was expiring and legal assistance was needed to negotiate a new agreement, and ECTV’s bylaws were in disarray and needed to be redone. Over a period of 10 months, the BTEP worked with the president and treasurer of ECTV to successfully negotiate a new agreement with the city and completely revise the organization’s bylaws. The bylaws themselves presented challenges. A certain percentage of directors were elected by members (individual residents of the city, businesses and not-for-profit organizations operating in Evanston), who in-turn elected other directors, and three stakeholders, the city and two school districts each appointed a director. The revised bylaws were adopted by ECTV’s board of directors.

Project Hope

The law student/counselors and Professor Michael Schlesinger have been very responsive and kept us in the loop with what was going on. The law student-counselors were outstanding. They were responsive to our needs, took the time to meet with us and gain an in-depth understanding of the issues and worked to get an amicable solution for all parties involved. The students were driven and enthused, excited and engaged.”

Marlene Allen, Ph.D., Project Hope

Image of Perfect Designs

We met Kim Coy at an outreach event sponsored by the Apparel Industry Board, an organization that provides mentoring and training to Chicago fashion designers. A graduate of Columbia College, Kim established Image of Perfection Designs, and was facing challenges establishing relationships with boutique owners. The BTEP prepared a form of agreement for the consulting services Kim provides through her company, a purchase agreement for the sale of merchandise to boutique owners, and a custom work-order contract. The BTEP is expecting big things from Kim.

Lil' Buds

They were wonderful! And we appreciated everyone’s dedication and hard work. As a small, not-for-profit, it was very appreciated!”

Jenny Lamb, Lil' Buds

Julia’s Fishes & Loaves

Not satisfied with a successful commercial cleaning franchise, Carla Roberson, from Richton Park, wanted to make a contribution to the community where she was raised by her grandmother, Julia, in order to honor her memory. Carla noted that the Chicago residents of Roseland and Englewood did not have access to fresh foods, such as fish, fruit, and vegetables. With the assistance of the BTEP, Carla organized Julia’s Fishes & Loaves, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation seeking tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization and will be filing an application. Through Julia’s Fishes & Loaves, Carla is partnering with Domonicque Tatum, MSW, outreach specialist of the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs, to utilize the veteran’s center at 7731 South Halsted in the Englewood Community. Carla says that the BTEP law student-counselors were “timely and professional.” Although the legal services were provided pro bono, Carla felt as if she was “paying a top-notch law firm.”

Live to Support

Originally, LTS Chicago had sought out the legal counsel of the Business Transactions Externship Program at John Marshall Law School prior to making some modifications to our current organizational structure which would have changed the way we would conduct business. After several conversations and due diligence on both ends, we decided the proposed changes to our structure would not be as beneficial as we may have initially thought. Once that was decided, the law student-counselors at the BTEP reviewed our plans and current client contracts. At that point, the law student/counselors went to work rewriting our contracts modifying the format and other language to better suit our needs. Working with Professor Schlesinger and the law student/counselors of the Business Transactions Externship Program at John Marshall Law School was an absolute pleasure. The value they were able to add to our business by providing legal expertise, counsel, and by amending our client contracts have been of immense benefit. Our business now evokes a more professional image with simplified contracts and written in easy to understand language. We have directly seen the benefits of the BTEP’s work as we are now receiving few requests to amend our contracts, because our clients are more comfortable with them as presented. Overall, the BTEP law student counselors were responsive, proficient and extremely knowledgeable regarding our industry and business in particular. The final product they delivered was professional, concise and provided all of the necessary provisions and protection we needed. Our company certainly intends to seek out the assistance of the BTEP in the future, because we trust them to address any of the legal needs we may require.”

Chris DuCharme, Live to Support

The purpose of these stories is to inform the public about the scope of the pro bono business and transactional legal services the business transactions externship program provides, and they should not be construed to suggest or guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter. Results depend on a variety of factors unique to each matter.